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Hometown Hero Stories: Jimmie Holder

Years after his Air Force service, banker Jimmie Holder enjoying retirement in his beloved College Station

Name:

Jimmie Holder

Hometown Hero because:

Served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force.

How long served?

Three years.

Why did you want to serve?

Jimmie went to Texas A&M in the early 1950s and going into the military was “what everybody was obligated to do when I started school in the Corps.”

What did your service mean to you?

“I felt like it was an individual responsibility and obligation … to do something for your country. “I liked military life and the Corps was great for me. You develop leadership skills and when I graduated I felt comfortable doing whatever was assigned to you,” Jimmie said.

What he did in the Air Force

Jimmie was trained as a navigator/radar bombardier on B-47 planes, which were eventually replaced by B-52s. He was the highest ranked lieutenant in his class and, was told, he could select his assignment. He wanted to go to an air/sea rescue outfit in Japan.
“I thought that would be interesting and my wife wanted to go to Japan,” said Jimmie.
But the Air Force wanted him to be an instructor.

Where’s your hometown?

Mart, Texas … 30 miles east of Waco.

Who’s your hero?

Former General and President Dwight Eisenhower. “He was just an outstanding military leader,” said Jimmie. “My brother and I had dogs out of same littler named Ike and Pat (for General George Patton) – guys like that who had a great record from World War II were heroes to me.”

What he does now:

Jimmie retired from Lubbock National Bank in 1996 after living in Lubbock for 30 years. He went back to Bryan-College Station and came out of retirement for 15 months to help launch a Commerce Bank branch.
“My buddies said I flunked retirement and had to go back to work,” Jimmie said, joking.

How did he end up in Bryan-College Station after retirement?

“My love for A&M and all that’s connected to it,” he said, plus his daughter and grandchildren lived there. “It’s home to me.”

What did he do with Lubbock National Bank?

Jimmie was a commercial lending officer.
“I worked for First National Bank the first 17 years of those 30 years. He told the story of his boss, who was Clemson grad, telling Jimmie they could root for their teams when then played Texas Tech, but “We’ll be Red Raiders 90 percent of the time,” said Jimmie. “Tech fans kidded me a lot. But by the time I left Lubbock I had a lot of friends who had kids going to A&M and I got a big kick out of that.”